From the dorms to the classrooms, the IEC to the art studio, Masters has 147 security
campus. Like many other students at Masters, senior Beila Kraus was unaware of the many cameras, originally guessing that there were only 20 of them.
“I think that we should publicize that there are cameras. On a lot of college campuses, this is public knowledge, and it’s a problem that it’s not public knowledge here,” said Kraus, who worries about the lack of privacy created by cameras.
Victor Seguinot, head of security, emphasizes the need for cameras, saying they are a crucial part of overall security.
“At Masters, it’s one of the most important tools that we have, and we actually cover the cameras 24/7, all day long. They’re like another set of eyes. With 96 acres of land to watch out over, the cameras help us navigate that distance. Rest assured, the security cameras do not pick up audio.” Mr. Seguinot said. Security isn’t the only thing that the cameras are used for. According to Dean of Students Jeff Carnevale, if students get into squabbles or disputes,
security cameras help draw a conclusion out of a sticky situation.
“Security cameras help us see what happens in a particular moment. So, if we know that there’s something that happened at the Fonseca Center for example, we can check the cameras, just to give us some more information along with what people are telling us is happening. An incident that comes to mind is when we had so much snow last year, and students were having a snowball fight on Rosen-
berg Terrace, and some snow went into the cafe, so that’s a time when it was helpful for us to be able to see what went down,” Carnevale said.
Homecoming kicks off the start of new school year
Elaina Barr Eto
Decorated with colorful banners, signs, string lights and pumping party music, Masters’ recent tradition of a homecoming dance launched the new school year. Fun party favors, such as glasses, were handed out, and snacks and soda were available for guests. Unlike last year’s dance, however, homecoming was hosted in Doc Wilson Hall in the Middle School.
DAA president and senior Anna Shub helped choose the location. “Doc Wilson was sort of a last resort type situation because a lot of buildings on campus are closed right now. Strayer is under renovation, and the inner exits
are blocked so it’s a fire hazard to have that many people inside of Strayer. Same with the IEC, not enough exits for the amount of people we were expecting. So Doc Wilson was sort of like a bigger space. The FC was a little bit too big,” she said.
Shub said she believed the dance had improved from last year.
“I think big improvements were in marketing beforehand and just getting the word out in advance because I think last year we didn’t get as much attendance be cause we were very last minute with relaying it to the school.
We planned ahead with morning meetings, social media, emails, just to make sure that the word got out far enough in advance.”
Tenth grader Liam
Chappelear said he enjoyed the food and beverages, but that the confined space made the party crowded and hot.
“I would suggest a better DJ, a better venue and a better
theme for sure,” he said. However, he said he thinks the tradition should carry on. “I think [homecoming] is important for a school to have, but if it does [continue], it needs to be a lot better next year.”
Tenth grader Ash Munitz said she liked the party favors handed out at the dance, and would like more events similar to homecoming at Masters.
“I know we already have a semi-formal in place, so it’s really nice to just kind of have this too because I really like having something to do on a Saturday night when I want to chill and party with my friends. I defi -
nitely think that we should keep this going, just maybe a better [location] next time,” she said.
Shub said last year’s DAA president, Kendall Halprin, first came up with the idea to have a homecoming dance. Shub said it was Halprin’s dream since she first came to Masters in the fifth grade and was her big project as president.
Shub said, “I think it’s an important tradition for the future because it’s just a way to come together. I think it’s a really nice way to commemorate the fall season and the beginning of school.”
JENNY XU/TOWER
STUDENTS GATHER IN THE Doc Wilson Hall to celebrate the first fall Homecomig Dance, planned by Dobbs Athletic Association, to commerate fall sports on their victories.
STUDENTS DANCE IN THE Doc WIlson Hall during Homecoming. DAA is still experimenting with the new tradition.
Mila BEnson
EMMA BARNES
Post Affirmative Action: how college admissions look a year later
A YEAR AFTER AFFIRMATIVE Action was overturned by the Supreme Court, students and colleges alike are grappling with this new reality. Some colleges and universities have seen drops in minority enrollment, while others have held steady. Other schools have seen increases in enrollment among lower income students.
AyAnnA Beckett
As the 2024-2025 admissions cycle begins, students are grappling with a new reality: how to navigate the college admissions process without the support of race-based affirmative action.
When the Supreme Court banned race-based affirmative action in admissions in June 2023, students and colleges both scrambled to adjust to this new reality.
Now, more than a year later the effects of the Supreme Court ruling are arriving. In the past few weeks colleges have begun reporting their statistics on the diversity of the first class admitted post Affirmative Action and it paints a picture that many feared.
MIT was among the first to report on its class of 2028, showing a sharp decline in Black and Hispanic students: Black admissions dropped from 15% to 5%, while Hispanic admissions fell from 16% to 11%. Meanwhile, the number of Asian students increased significantly, and the proportion of White students remained steady. Similar pat -
terns were reported at Amherst College and Brown University. These statistics echo concerns raised since the end of affirmative action, but they don’t tell the whole story. At Yale, Princeton, and other schools, the numbers of Black and Hispanic admits remained relatively consistent.
Esperanza Borrero, dean for inclusive excellence, offered some insight into the statistics. “Nationally, the reports are that Black and Latino enrollment is down. Amongst White students, it’s roughly the same, and amongst Asian students, it’s slightly higher. And then to throw complexity into it, enrollment for students who would be classified or categorized
“
My fear is that it will become a little bit more restrictive for students of color to enter colleges”
- Juan torres ‘25
as low-income has gone up. And so I think it’s a complex issue.”
The conflicting data has led many to question what
the true effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action will ultimately be.
Adam Gimple, director of college admissions, offered his thoughts on the subject “ If you were to ask most higher education professionals, namely those that work in admissions, whether or not they wish they could bring in as racially and ethnically as diverse a possible incoming class as possible the vast majority of them would tell you they absolutely would want to prioritize different lived experiences and different perspectives.”
He went on to say “It’s really difficult, given the federal mandates now that when a student references in their application whatever their identity is, whatever it could be, that gets redacted from a federal perspective, which I think is hard.” With the overturning of affirmative action students have had to change the way that they look at the college admissions process. Juan Torres ‘25 provided more insight into the issue, “I think it has heightened the pressure to present yourself as a diverse candidate. There’s more pressure to talk about your identity, your race, and your background. My fear is that it will become a little bit more restrictive for students
Getting the 101 on Proposition 1
Rooke WiseR
The Masters’ co-ed field hockey team has faced repeated game cancellations since they include male players on a predominantly female team, but that struggle may change as New Yorkers vote on Nov. 5, 2024, whether to pass Proposition 1, the Equal Rights Amendment. The amendment would expand anti-discrimination protections in the New York State (NYS) Constitution by updating its language from “race, color, creed or religion” to include “ethnicity, natural origin, age, disability, … or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
While the debate over Proposition 1 has raised countless arguments, most of these are centered on abortion rights. Most notably, the act implicitly guarantees abortion rights by adding protections related to pregnancy outcomes and reproductive healthcare autonomy. While the amendment doesn’t explicitly use the word “abortion” anywhere, by treating pregnancy decisions as personal, constitutionally-backed choices, it limits laws from restricting access to reproductive health-
care in a discriminatory way.
Proposition 1 also covers gender identity and expression protections. By specifically adding protections for gender identity, the amendment ensures that transgender and nonbinary individuals are protected from discrimination in schools, workplaces, healthcare, and public accommodations. For teams like the Masters’ field hockey squad, the amendment could reduce the challenges faced in school athletics.
The Dobbs Ferry Democratic Committee has been actively promoting a “yes” vote on Proposition 1, framing it as a safeguard against any rollbacks of abortion rights. Their efforts include doorto-door canvassing and reminding voters to flip their ballots over, as Proposition 1 will appear on the back. “One of the most important things on the ballot in New York this year is a referendum to protect reproductive freedoms,” the committee shared in a recent Facebook post. “With abortion rights under attack across the country, we must secure these rights here at home by passing Proposition 1, the NY-ERA.”
While Proposition 1 has been promoted as a way to protect abortion access, opposition has also been growing. The New York Republican State Committee has openly criticized the amendment,
arguing that it is unnecessary.
“New York legalized abortion in 1970 and is not under any threat of repeal,” the committee said in a statement. Most concerns are instead over the amendment’s impact on schools and parental rights.
“Prop 1 will force schools to allow biological males on female sports teams,” the committee claims. “It will give minors the right to pur-
sue transgender medical interventions without parental consent.”
While NYS law already prohibits school officials from disclosing a student’s gender identity without consent and allows students to participate in activities that align with their gender identity, these protections can be changed through legislation. Proposition 1 aims to make them more
permanent and less susceptible to political shifts by embedding them in the state constitution.
Similarly, under existing regulations, minors can only make health care decisions independently under specific circumstances, such as medical emergencies, pregnancy, or if they are legally emancipated. The proposed amendment wouldn’t change these frameworks, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming vote, but it could solidify these protections by adding them to the NYS constitution.
However, legal experts suggest that both supporters and opponents may be overstating their cases. In an interview with WXXI News, Vincent Bonventre, a law professor at Albany Law School, clarified that while the amendment strengthens anti-discrimination protections, it does not explicitly codify the right to abortion.
“It does not preclude legitimate restrictions on abortion,” Bonventre explained. He also warned that future legislatures could still pass restrictions. “For example, if we get a conservative administration in the governor’s office, and they control the Assembly and the Senate, there’s nothing to stop them from enacting legislation that pretty severely restricts a woman’s right to choose. There’s nothing in here that stops that.”
JOVEY MOLINA/TOWER
OpiniOn
AEDITORIAL TOWER
Who cares about the presidential election?
s Nov. 5 approaches, election day tensions grow higher and higher. You’ll hear more of your friends and family members discussing the stakes, you’ll hear a lot of the word “unprecedented” and, afterward, you’ll hear a lot about the outcomes and what it all means for the country’s future.
What you won’t hear them talk about are the local elections happening in Westchester just a few days earlier.
In Dobbs Ferry and throughout Westchester, early voting for the November 2024 local elections begins on Oct. 26. These elections don’t have the same headlines or publicity as the presidential race, but their outcome will affect everything from education policy to environmental regulations to criminal justice reform.
School board members, village trustees,
county executives and town supervisors have more control over your day-to-day life than Congress or the President ever will, but how many of us even know what’s on the ballot?
Even for students, these elections are especially important. If we want to be informed voters when it’s our turn to cast a ballot, we need to start paying attention now. Many of us will be voting soon — whether this year or in the next few years — and local elections are the perfect opportunity to learn how government decisions affect our communities. Even if you leave Dobbs Ferry for college, the influence of local governance will follow you: through campus policies, public transit access and public safety measures. Understanding local governance now prepares us for wherever life takes us next.
Still, despite their importance, local elections, primarily school board and municipal ones, suffer from shockingly low voter turnout,
often dipping to just 5%. This means they’re often decided by razor-thin margins. Many local races have come down to fewer than 15 votes, and in 2021, the North Castle supervisor race — just a 20-minute drive from here — was decided by a single vote. With such tight races, individual ballots matter, and small groups of motivated voters can make all the difference.
If we wait until the general election to care, we’ve already missed the most meaningful opportunities to create change. Even if you aren’t casting a ballot this year, the conversations you have today can influence the votes that decide tomorrow. Encourage your family and friends to vote, learn about the key issues around you, and familiarize yourself with the process of local governance because you still have an important role to play in shaping the future of our community.
A Puzzle to Fall For
2024-2025
Editors-in-Chief
Ellie Hise
Justine Pascutti
Rooke Wiser
Illustration Editor
Jenny Xu
Lead News Editor
Allie Faber
News Editor
Mila Benson
Lead Features Editor
Neena Atkins
Features Editor
Ella Liu
Lead Opinion Editor
Elaina Barreto
Visuals Director and Opinion Editor
Ayanna Beckett
Lead Sports Editor
Ella Black
Sports Editor
Thomas McCallum
Web Editor
Jack Bilman
Social Media Manager and PR Editor
Loewy Nalle
Photographers & Illustrators
Roni Barkan
Alyssa Wang
Rose Yuan
Marissa Goldfarb
Emma Barnes
Chana Kim
Jovey Molina
Online Media
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Tower is hand-delivered on the day of publication to the Upper School. 650 copies are printed. A copy is sent to each of our advertisers. scholastic Press affiliations, letters anD eDitorial Policy Tower is the winner of the Pacemaker Award for Overall Excellence, an award-winning member of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), Journalism Education Association (JEA) and Quill and Scroll. We encourage Letters to the Editor, which can be submitted to the following email address: TowerEditors@MastersNY.org. Published approximately six times a year, Tower, the student newspaper of The Masters School, is a public forum, with its Editorial Board making all decisions concerning content. Commentaries and opinion columns are the expressed opinion of the author and not of Tower and its Editorial Board or its advisers. Furthermore, the opinions conveyed are not those of The Masters School, faculty, or staff. Unsigned editorials express views of the majority of the Editorial Board.
JENNY XU/TOWER
Dive
into the swim test and get it done early
Rooke WiseR
For seniors at The Masters School, the rush to meet graduation requirements includes one particularly dreaded task: the swim test.
Despite the echoing groans during each class meeting, the swim test isn’t just a random obstacle thrown at us last minute.
As one of twelve graduation requirements, students must swim four laps—two on your front, two on your back—and tread water for two minutes in the deep end.
Seniors before me cautioned me to take the swim
test early, and now as a senior myself, I find myself sharing the same advice. Don’t just take it from me though; Alex Thorn, another senior, stresses the importance of early awareness: “There should be an easy way for freshmen and sophomores to get it done early.”
Yes, the requirement often catches us off guard. After all, who’s thinking about swimming when they’re buried in calculus homework and college applications? Still, we have only ourselves to blame. Ten of the 12 aforementioned graduation requirements don’t require senior-year participation, and the swim test is no exception.
Lifeguard and diver-certified students, as well as swim team members, are all exempt from the test. For the rest of us, it can be completed well before senior year.
As Samantha Weber, a senior who passed her test
in sophomore year, points out, “It’s really on the students [to get it done] because you can do it early. It’s listed at the bottom of the Scoop when there’s open swim if you do want to do it then.”
Take it from someone who learned the hard way.
During my junior year, I sent an email to Coach Di Domenico, the aquatics director, about taking the swim test. She quickly provided a list of available times, yet I procrastinated.
Nevertheless, the swim test itself isn’t some Herculean task. The four laps don’t require specific strokes—in fact, you can even doggy paddle. Additionally, the test is not timed whatsoever, and you can even take the test in chunks. “It was really easy too. I’m not a great swimmer, but I can swim enough to not drown,” Weber recalls.
“It’s 10 minutes at most, if you’re a
really slow swimmer and taking wall breaks.”
But why have such a requirement at all? As it turns out, prestigious universities like MIT, Cornell and Columbia also require students to pass a swim test before graduation. MIT, for example, has upheld this rule since the 1940s, citing research that shows drownings are most common in families where parents never learned to swim. The logic is simple: swimming is a life-saving skill. If these universities view it as a key component of their curriculum, why shouldn’t we?
For those who haven’t taken the dive yet, take this as your warning: there’s an easier way to get it done than you might think. So whether you doggy paddle or freestyle your way through, it’s a test worth taking early.
QR codes are killing the mood
my phone) and began looking a little more carefully at the labels for each one.
While passing through the first floor of Masters Hall, I noticed a wall, once plastered in colorful posters advertising various student clubs with glitter glue and collages, now replaced by rows and rows of QR codes. Examining the wall, I quickly grew bored of contemplating where the QR codes might lead (if only I had
That’s bizarre:
One of the framed codes was missing a label, there were no names indicating the club or leaders. Another few club codes did feature student names -- just spelled wrong. The Dobbs Athletic Assoction code omitted the last name of the leader and just read: Kendall. I remember Kendall: she graduated last year. The bizarre array of club codes with misspelled names and inconsistent titles is a new feature of Masters Hall this year, and the change came quietly. Although Jeff Carnevale declined to comment on the intention behind the wall, the codes fit into what I have noticed to be a developing
theme at Masters: Modernity. The emphasis on modernity in recent Masters projects is certainly evident. The Innovation and Entrepeneurship Center building contains impressive technological features within its angular structure. The Fonseca Center, a previous project, boasts glass windows stretching to the ceiling of the gym, and cold metal stools lining the hall. The QR code wall is not nearly as impressive. Technologically wise,
the QR codes are limited. QR stands for ‘quick response’, but of course, how quick can the response be if students have to wait until 3:05 p.m.? Moreover, QR codes are too old to be novel. The modern touch of adding a digital element to the wall is already dated.
On a larger scale, omitting the technological aspect, modern styles are often lifeless. On its best days, modern decor and architecture can be seen as “sleek” and “minimalistic”, but typically the effect is drab and sparse.
To that effect, the wall is certainly modern. Any evidence of human interaction, or student passion, was chucked over the summer and replaced with cold, function-fits-form codes. Why are we so quick to replace the warmth and color that adorned Masters Hall with monochromatic codes?
Of course, that question is half-rhetorical. The previous club advertisements were busy and chaotic in aesthetics and certainly messy in some areas. But the history of Masters isn’t clutter.
I have my own opinions about the aesthetic design of the IEC, but at least it added to campus rather than replaced. Moreover, the building was thoughtful. In contrast, the wall appears like a quick cover-up of what was deemed not good enough. Modernity is inherently a little egotistic, arguing that the minimalistic present is better than the accumulated past. And as we know, the present can feel very stark and bleak. Let our spaces on campus feel warm and cozy, let them feel cheerful. Let them feel fun. Even when colors clash, or clutter reigns, the solution isn’t apathetic design. The scratched and written-on Harkness tables, the random assortment of paintings and posters hanging in classrooms on the second floor, the stained-glass windows: Masters may be imperfect, and it may be unpolished, but this school exhibits signs of life and excitement in every class and doorway and office. Don’t let QR codes take that away.
PHOTO: ROOKE WISER/TOWER
ellie Hise
PHONELESS STUDENTS EXAMINE QR BOARD during the school day. In Ellie Hise’s opinion piece below, she critiques the utility of the board in light of the new phone policy.
TEREZA HORVATOVA CUTS THROUGH the water in the Fonseca Center pool. Unlike many other seniors, she was not required to take the swim test as she is a member of the swim team at Masters. In the article above, Rooke Wiser calls for his peers to accomplish this graduation requirement before their senior year.
JACK BILMAN/TOWER
Social media fuels political polarization Stars, screens and sides
From scrolling through videos on TikTok to reading comments on X, the platforms we engage with increasingly shape our worldview, particularly in the political sphere. In our digital age, social media serves as a primary source of news and political discourse for millions of users worldwide. However, social media algorithms are not neutral – they frequently reinforce existing beliefs and create echo chambers that can polarize our views.
Sophomore Zac Ryan pointed out how social media algorithms can drive users into a single narrative. He observed, “If you feel like you’re interested in, say, a Kamala Harris video, the algorithm will just keep showing you more and more of that. Basically reinforcing what you think, it’s like a one-sided story type of thing.”
According to an article in Scientific American, algorithm loops, like the one Ryan described, prevent users from encountering diverse perspectives, leaving them to assume their belief is universal. Echo chambers, where like-minded opinions constantly surround users, intensify the lack of exposure to diverse viewpoints. Jillian McCoy, head librarian and coordinator for digital information and learning, explained how easy it is to create these environments.
“My big worry with echo chambers is if we are consistently
unfollowing people we disagree with–which sometimes is good because you need a break from toxic information–you never encounter different ideas and just reinforce your own thoughts,” McCoy said. While avoiding disagreement may feel comforting, the isolation from differing opinions can deepen divides between political groups. A simple interaction between two users on opposite ends of the political spectrum often escalates into heated arguments.
“ With just a click of a button, you can see what a politician thinks. It’s created many advantages, but also many disadvantages for political discourse.”
-Noah Adler
Ryan provided an example: “When one person with a Kamala Harris feed comments on a right-leaning user’s Trump video, they’re gonna have this whole argument based on things they’ve seen, and it’s just gonna break out,” he said.
The rise of polarization on social media mirrors trends in broader political discourse.
A 2022 study by Pew Research
highlights how both parties in the United States have shifted farther from the ideological center since the 1970s, with Democrats becoming more liberal and Republicans more conservative.
Similarly, Brookings Institute reported that political polarization has also contributed to the spread of misinformation, due to both parties constructing material to defame their opponent.
McCoy commented, “There are startling statistics about what you can find on social media. When you search on Tiktok for current news events, you’re like
ly to get 20% misinformation.”
Misinformation on social media leads to real-world consequences. For example, during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, echo chambers on platforms like Face
book and X (then Twitter) ampli
fied false claims of widespread voter fraud. One group, True the Vote, spread false allegations regarding the election results. Although they later admitted in court their claims were unsubstantiated, the narrative gained mass internet traction.
Noah Adler, sophomore and day student representative, discussed how the “Big Lie” regarding Trump losing the election escalated online and resulted in offline violence.
He mentioned, “We saw this [proliferation of misinformation] in the 2020 election. People got really riled up, and that led to January 6, an insurrection attack on our Capitol, where we had
people breaking glass and banging on the doors of our capitol.”
The New York Times reported that four crowd members died during the January 6, 2021 attack, and five law enforcement officers lost their lives in the days and weeks following. Additionally, around 150 police officers were injured. A June 2021 Senate report concluded that a total of seven people died as a direct result of the events on January 6.
Despite events like the one discussed above, the increasing
impact of social media on political discourse is not entirely negative; it comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Adler reflected on how our generation is uniquely positioned in this new digital age.
“Our generation is growing up in a world where we can communicate, where we can express our ideas without having to turn on the TV. With just a click of a button, you can see what a politician thinks. It’s created many advantages, but also many disadvantages, for political discourse,” he said.
Pros and Cons of Social Media Use in Politics
NeeNa atkiNs
“Yea of course, it’s Trump all day”
-Kanye West
“First female president? Would be really amazing”
-Billie Eilish
“I’m voting for Kamala because she fights for the rights AND CAUSES I believe need a warrior TO CHAMPION THEM”
-Taylor Swift
“Trump is the only canidate to preserve democracy”
-Elon Musk
CELEBRITIES INCREASINGLY TURN TOWARD using social media platforms for speaking out on political issues, whether that is simply to encourage voting or endorsing a candidate or cause. Teenagers are encouraged through the influence of their phone to play a more active role in the upcoming election.
A-list to informative: Celebrity endorsements lead young voters to register
The night after the second presidential debate, mega super-star Taylor Swift took to Instagram and publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 election. While primarily supporting Harris, Swift also encouraged people to register to vote.
“The research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make,” Swift said.
Following the post, a study from The New York Times recorded that there were 406,000 more voter registrations across the United States within the first twenty-four hours of her post, using the link she provided.
Seniors Lissie Skrenta and Bella Munoz have reached out to young voters and recent Masters alumni, stressing
the importance of registration and its impact on their future.
“Young voters are really fired up because they can tell that this is majorly going to affect their future,” Skrenta said.
Young voters can play a crucial role in the election, especially in swing states like North Carolina and Georgia. Tufts University recorded that in 2020, Georgia’s youth helped secure Biden’s win. Biden had only a slim margin of 11,779 votes.
“Voting is a privilege,” Skrenta said. “It is shameful because it has been so hard for people for so many years to vote, and it continues to be hard for so many people. It’s a privilege that all American citizens should practice if they can.”
Swift’s substantial and youthful audience significantly boosted registration numbers, showcasing the power of
using a big platform for change. Skrenta continued, “If you have a platform as big as Taylor Swift, use it for something you’re passionate about. Use it for good.”
Colleen Roche, Upper
“tor of how a person votes, particularly a young person, is their parents’ political beliefs. I could see a celebrity endorsement having a similar impact,” Roche said. This phenomenon aligns with
The number one predictor of how a person votes, particularly a young person, is their parents’ political beliefs. I could see a celebrity endorsement having a similar impact.”
-Colleen Roche
School history faculty member, teaches the political science class and explains why these celebrity endorsements can significantly impact voter registrations.
“The number one predic -
the concept of “parental transmission” explained by a scholar at Depauw University, in which parents influence the political beliefs of their children. Swift’s fan culture resembles this. As an
influential public figure, whatever Taylor wants (in this case, people registering), translates into hundreds of thousands of Americans registering to vote.
While Swift endorsed Harris, CEO of Tesla, X, and SpaceX, Elon Musk endorsed former president Donald Trump at a rally on October 5.
“Trump is the only candidate to preserve democracy in America,” Musk said.
Trump and Musk share a strong alliance, with Musk previously chosen to lead Trump’s newly created government efficiency commission. This commission’s purpose was; Trump’s only exlanation stated: “It will eliminate fraud and improper payments within the first 6th months of its formation.” Musk’s endorsement reached his more than 200 million followers through his platform on X.
In this presidential race, social media is vital for engaging young voters. We see posts from celebrities, but accounts like KamalaHQ (run by her team) use modern language and memes to increase youth participation. These videos can be a transparent way to understand who the candidates are and what they value, due to the easy language that young voters can understand.
KamalaHQ shares “debate highlights” and PSAs that resonate with the youth. For instance, her team posted an informational video summarizing the detrimental effects that Project 2025 would have on our country. Trump also has a TikTok account and posts his promises that if he was elected such as “delivering the greatest economy in the history of the world.”
These statements can draw attention to the youth who need reassurance that the candidate they elect in 2024 will uphold their values.
“In this age of social media and people following celebrities and politicians on things like Instagram, people feel a connection with them that they didn’t pri -
Loewy NaLLe
RONI BARKAN/TOWER
RONI BARKAN/TOWER
Even Snow White would harm these flies
Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, these lanternflies must go!
Ilook straight out of an impressionistic painting designed to capture the essence of autumn, adorned with red and orange leaves, dappled golden rays of light… but wait, what’s going on with that tree to the left?
The tree looks like it needs some medical attention: The bark in some areas looks like it’s been painted with a thick white gesso, and in other areas is covered in gray flies, each bigger than a quarter. At the base of the tree, it almost looks like a stray can of white spray paint went loose. The white color at the stump is actually a highly sugary poop, the gesso on the tree is gestating eggs, and those flies? They’re the culprit.
What are we dealing with?
When 2012 became the year of foretold doom, the Mayans must have actually been talking about spotted lanternflies. These bugs first arrived in Berks County, Pennsylvania, around 2012 in the form of eggs on a stone shipment from China, according to Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Within two years – or two generations of flies – the flies had taken over a swath of woodland and have since spread across the Northeast, evading quarantines, awareness campaigns and other measures. According to Kelli Hoover,
an entomology professor at Penn State University, the lanternflies were able to travel long distances and spread by catching rides on cars or trucks. Hoover added that the population’s growth would be somewhat checked by climate, and temperature extremes would prevent them from spreading to hot, arid Arizona or colder Maine.
What is an invasive species?
Lanternflies are not a unique problem but rather the latest iteration of invasive species. According to Dana McNamee, the science department chair and teacher of AP environmental science, among other classes, “Organisms are being transported all over the world all the time. Most are unsuccessful.”
She explained, “Most of them don’t actually ever get the chance to breed or make a new population because they are just not suited for the new location.”
The ones that can acclimate to the climate easily or lack natural predators, can quickly pose a serious threat. As soon as the organism establishes a population in a nonnative area, according to McNamee, it is considered invasive.
McNamee cites many situations that lead to an invasive species being introduced to a habitat, from buying exotic animals as pets to shipping goods with organisms in tow. She said, “We move so many goods all over the world that it’s hard not to have a few hitch hikers. Some of them sneak onto boats, like rats in the 1300s.”
More recent than the bubon
ic plague, McNamee referred to the Japanese shore crab that settled in Long Island in the late ‘80s. She said, “The shore crab is an organism that, as an egg, was sucked into the ballast of these big ships. Nobody thought twice about bringing this big ship across the ocean, from Japan to New Jersey. When they dumped all that water, all the eggs went into the water too. And now we have a whole coastline of those.”
A similar story to the lanternflies might ring a bell: Stink bugs, also known as shield bugs or, incorrectly, as leaf bugs, also showed up from regions of eastern Asia to Allentown, Pennsylvania. Stink bugs have been in the U.S. since at least 2001, according to the University of California, Riverside, and have remained since. Stink bugs are considered ‘naturalized,’ meaning they have settled for good.
Luckily, stink bugs are fairly benign, so they don’t do much more damage to the local ecology than many other indigenous species. Some types of stink bugs even prey on pests.
Unfortunately, lanternflies are different. They inflict damage on nearly all types of trees from hardwoods to fruit trees, by draining ‘phloem sap,’ according to Hoover.
The sap contains the energy needed for growth, and the bugs often stunt the growth of saplings through the depletion of sugar. Their excretions, a sugary substance called honeydew, attract hordes of ants and wasps.
Even when not explicitly harmful, the flies have an off-putting
What can we do about them? Middle School fights back
Like stink bugs, these flies are now considered naturalized, meaning it is useless to step on them -- right? Not really.
Stepping on even one fly prevents anywhere from 30 to 100 babies in that area. It may not make a difference nationally, but it might make your town or backyard less overrun next year. Moreover, fall is the perfect time to take action. Although these bugs have been in the area for about two years now, autumn is the best time to be proactive.
After a year of maturing, according to Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sci ences, adult flies lay eggs in a thick paste on trees start
The Middle School employed a creative method of reducing the fly numbers: Super Soakers. The Environmental Sustainability Club is entering its second year defending the campus against the pests. One of the club leaders, eighth grader Jack Barek, explained the strategy. “We filled water guns with the water-and-vinegar solution that was strong enough to kill the lanternflies but not strong enough to hurt the trees.” He continued, “It killed them pretty quickly, so they didn’t get the chance to [jump away] but there
ing in Septem ber and ending when the first frost kills the adults. The paste on trees hardens over the winter, making the eggs inside particularly vulnerable. The best thing to do when confronted with these eggs in late fall and early winter is to scrape them off the trees. This ensures that, come spring and summer, the next wave of lanternflies won’t be so oppressive.
There are other ways to curb the population. According to Hoover, “You can treat infested plants with safer soap insecticides or systemic insecticides like dinotefuran (applied by a professional).”
of the flies are concentrated near the track and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. This year, the club is changing their strategy: the students are exploring the possibility of building traps. Barek said, “We are trying to balance between what is going to trap the lanternflies but not trap the other insects, and what is too harmful and going to hurt the trees and going to be too weak.” Nature often seems omnipotent, a current of changes that is too strong to affect. But even the smallest action, or the most ingenious, can turn the tide against the bugs. These harmful flies didn’t arrive in the North
Fair access, equal success: The impact of learning accommodations
In a typical classroom, one might notice a few students using computers, special calculators or receiving extra time on tests. These alternative uses of certain resources, called accommodations, go beyond practical adjustment: they are essential tools that help students with learning differences succeed. But what exactly are accommodations, and why do some students receive them?
Accommodations are designed to give students with learning differences equal access to learning opportunities. Accommodations can include extended time on tests, alternate methods of completing assignments, changes to seating and assistive technology. It is important to remember that accommodations don’t change what students are learning, they change how the students are learning and provide different ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge.
Julia Jones, the director of learning enhancement and development, said, “It’s a case-by-case basis,
WHY SOME STUDENTS NEED ACCOMMODATIONS
really looking at students’ individual needs, not just their diagnosis.”
The goal of accommodations is to reduce the challenges created by learning differences, so students can fully participate in class and show their abilities without being limited by obstacles beyond their control.
For students with learning differences like dyslexia, ADHD or dyscalculia, traditional methods of teaching and learning might not suit their needs. This doesn’t make them any less capable; it just means they require different approaches to learning.
Take dyslexia, for example.
While students with dyslexia may struggle to read, accommodations
such as audiobooks or text-to-speech software enable them to access the material in a way that bypasses their reading challenges, allowing them to perform at their true potential.
Senior Taylor Marlowe, a student with dyslexia, said, “I struggle to comprehend material, keep up while writing notes, and frequently make spelling errors. My use of a computer [accommodation] and extra time allows me to keep up with the rest of my class and not worry about spelling errors.”
Despite being very helpful, Marlowe sometimes struggles to find a time to finish her tests because she has double time, but her
teachers are always understanding. She said, “I typically need to come in during a free or schedule something after school, but I have never had any trouble receiving my accommodations.”
Similarly, students with ADHD might find it hard to stay focused in busy environments. Moving them to a quieter space or breaking tasks into smaller chunks helps them maintain focus and complete their work successfully, without feeling overwhelmed.
Senior Lily Grand, a student with ADHD, explained, “Accommodations aren’t about making things easier for me - they just help
BREAKING THE STIGMA:
me stay focused and organized so I can keep up with everyone else.” Unfortunately, some people still view accommodations as giving students an unfair advantage. However, these adjustments are not about making learning easier—they are about fairness. Students with learning differences face unique challenges, and accommodations help level the playing field by removing obstacles that would otherwise hold them back. Without these tools, students might struggle to show their true capabilities, regardless of their intelligence or effort.
BUILDING A MORE INCLUSIVE FUTURE:
Grand stated, “Without accommodations, I would be stuck trying to manage distractions instead of learning.”
Recognizing the importance of accommodations is key to creating a more inclusive learning environment. When we understand and support these necessary adjustments, we contribute to a school culture that values diverse learning styles. By embracing accommodations, we ensure that all students, regardless of their learning differences, can succeed and contribute meaningfully to the community.
Clubs at Masters: Purposes and Plan
SJack Bilman
tudents were greeted at the club fair by over 50 clubs with everything that they would want. They were excited to join new clubs, and also advertise their own.
Sophomore Adrian Ciubotaru said, “I think that the variety and diversity of clubs is
what makes Masters special.”
However, some people may think otherwise. Sophomore John Zacariah said, “When I walked into the club fair, I looked around, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of clubs, and I thought it might have been too much.”
This has been a topic of debate on campus for some time now. The issue has been combated through
“Clubs at Masters”, otherwise known as “CAM”. CAM is an organization that was around on campus for many years, then went dormant for about five or more years. Executive committee revived the club last year.
Many students have been wondering why CAM was revived, and what purpose it will serve in the upcoming years.
Senior, and co-chair of CAM, Jesse Gelman said that CAM has been brought back because of “a lack of unity between a lot of clubs.”
STUDENTS GATHER ON THE quad to sign up for clubs during the annual club fair. Students have formed over 50 clubs on campus, with eight student performance groups and five affinity groups.
Gelman said that the main goal of CAM this year is to start “streamlining the club process and making it easier for clubs to do what they want.”
One common misconception is that CAM controls the amount of money that is allocated to each club.
Associate Head of Upper School for Student Life Jeff Carnevale said, “The goal
for them [CAM] is to help clubs collaborate with each other, and develop a schedule that can be easily communicated when events are happening, but the CAM co chairs don’t oversee budget.”
Well, who controls the budget?
The general rule is that each club gets 100 dollars at the beginning of the school year. However, the definition for a club can be vague, because groupsike Model UN and Debate are not technically clubs, but programs. They get funding separate from regular clubs that are run by students.
Another issue that can
arise is when seniors form clubs, and then they graduate. This leaves behind a lack of leadership and direction for a club. Carnevale said, “It can often be a challenge at the end of the school year, transitioning from seniors who are graduating to rising juniors or sophomores. If the club is not functioning well, that transition doesn’t happen. It [Seniors graduating] is clearly a tough hurdle for clubs that are not well established to last even a few years.”
AYANNA BECKETT/TOWER
Ella Black
STUDENTS JORDAN HARRIS ‘25, Alex Cooperstock ‘25, Alex Carnevale, Rory Frasch ‘25 gather behind their Dungeons & Drangons club table for sign-ups.
ACCOMMODATIONS LEVEL THE PLAYING field rather than give students unfair advantages.
to speed the application process, the FAFSA form has been a cause of ongoing anxiety for officials, students and college administrators.
The process has been beset by a constant stream of bugs and data entry problems, which have locked students out, provided incorrect aid calculations, and severely disrupted the enrollment process that occurs in the spring when colleges usually inform accepted students about their expected costs.
The FAFSA delay is similar to the issues faced during last year’s launch, where initial delays in October hinted at more significant problems that continued to affect the form for months after it was fully released.
MASTERS COMMUNITY REACTS
Adam Gimple, director of college counseling at Masters, offered his thoughts on the rollout of FAFSA last year.
Gimple said, “Last year’s rollout of FAFSA was complicated at best. I would say that significant delays on the release of the digital form for fami-
FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW THE
release an effective tool until the end of December when it normally comes out on Oct. 1 is a massive problem.”
He continued, “Last year with the rollout of the first cycle of removing race conscious admissions from the accept from the application process and the and the admissions deliberation process, overlaid with a significant disruption and even an additional obstacle to acquiring financial funds to support access to higher education for the populations that are already under resourced is a huge miscarriage of justice in my opinion. I think all of those things compounding one another really are problematic in ways that are just unintelligible. We just can’t have that again.”
Xavier Rolston ‘24, a current student at Cornell University, explained his experience completing the FAFSA last year.
“Honestly, there was not a lot of help immediately available because the new form was so different. Filling the form out with my family, we spent a lot of time trying to look at the form and make sense of all of what it was asking. The form itself, I actually thought, was fairly easy to fill
too bad. But filling it out [the FAFSA] at a time where the website just wouldn’t stop crashing, was really difficult.”
Rolston offered his advice to Masters students who might be starting their FAFSA application process.
“Be ready for the application to take a while and be patient. Your application is not all going to get done in one sitting, and it’s not all going to get done super fast. Have all of your documents ready in advance and saved somewhere clearly, and don’t be afraid to ask your college counselor questions, because they definitely will be able to help you.”
Gimple explained the various tools and resources available to help Masters students and families complete the FAFSA this year.
“The first step that we always guide families to is that any family who thinks that finances are a concern of any sort should go to a couple of colleges’ websites and go to the net price calculators on their websites. In addition to that, I encourage stu -
platform called MyinTuition, which can really help give families an approximate sense of at a respective institution with a family of their household income alone, can anticipate an approximation of what they will be expected to contribute if they’re admitted to an institution. That to me is a must have for every family where finances are a piece of the puzzle.”
This year, Masters college counselors have partnered with Cameron Feist, the former director of financial aid and enrollment management at Hamilton College.
“If there’s a circumstance that seems very complicated or very confusing, we as counselors can call him up, paint the picture for him, and then he’ll give us the advice that we should then share with families to make sure that our family is as supportive as possible.” Gimple said.
A STUDENT PERPECTIVE
An Upper School senior, who preferred to keep her identity private, explained her experience filling out the FAFSA application.
“The process so far has been stressful because I’m applying Early Action and Early Decision, and those deadlines for me are Nov. 1 and Nov. 15. Because the FAFSA doesn’t officially open until Dec. 1., I have a month where I can’t really do anything.” She continued, “College is so expensive for everybody now. Almost 90% of the population has to take out loans in order to afford some form of higher education if they’re able to pursue higher education. So I feel like almost everyone is in the same boat, but the system has not bought up yet. Students are still made to feel less than because they are on financial aid from the federal government. It’s a messed up system, but it is important for equity.”
Justine Pascutti
Field hockey fights for inclusivity on the field
Down at Greene Family Field, the field hockey team darts around the turf, hitting shots, making passes and driving the ball towards the goal. Sweat dripping down their faces, they practice hard to refine their skills. Their coach calls for them to gather up at the end of practice, but she has bad news. Another school has canceled their game, just like last time. The reason? Other schools don’t want to play against Masters’ co-ed team.
The field hockey team only has three boys, senior Benjamin Kremnev, junior Xing Lyu and sophomore Nick Holz, not enough to form their own team. In order to stay in accordance with Title IX, which requires every sport be offered to all genders, the school hosts a co-ed team.
Kremnev expressed frustration over game cancellations. He reported that many all-girls schools do not wish to play with them because the team is co-ed. When other schools refuse to play, the team is forced to compromise.
He said, “We’ll not play the game if we don’t care about it, or it’s
very far away. If we do care about it and it’s close by, we’ll play the game and the boys will be on the sideline cheering.”
However, Coach Taylor Durkin has a more positive outlook on these situations. From her point of view, these frequent cancellations are understandable and are never one sided. Durkin is empathetic to other teams canceling, and due to the team not currently being included in any field hockey league, the stakes are lower.
She said, “We’ll find the next team to play, and we’ll always have another game.”
For some female players, there are advantages to playing on the same team as boys.
Sophomore Beatrice Hopper said, “When there’s guys on the team, I think I push myself a little harder, because I want to be able to beat some of the guys in speed or maybe the position that we play.”
Despite the sports’ non-contact rules, injuries inevitably occur, especially when people are hit with the ball.
During a high school game in Massachusetts, a biologically male player shot the ball, which bounced up into the air off an opponent’s stick where it then hit another op-
MIDFIELDER NICK HOLZ '27 dodges past a Brearley defender in a thrilling, hard-fought game that ended in a 4-3 win for Masters on Oct. 4 home game, their second win of the year.
ponent’s face causing a severe facial injury.
A big debate ensued, in which some said that male athletes pose a risk to girls in field hockey. The captain of the injured teammate even wrote a letter to the MIAA asking for co-ed field hockey to end, in which she stated that male players in field hockey pose a serious risk to female players in the game. The post garnered a lot of attention, almost one million views, and drew lots of
mixed reactions.
While no legal action ensued, the MIAA issued a response in which they defended their inclusion of multiple genders.
“Student safety has not been a successful defense to excluding students of one gender from participating on teams of the opposite gender” said the MIAA in their statement.
This rule is in place due to the Massachusetts Equal Rights Amend-
ment. Similarly, in New York’s u coming statewide ballot, an amendment is proposed to the state constitution in which it adds gender to the list of characteristics that cannot be subjected to unequal treatment.
While the role of gender in sports is gaining more attention with divided opinions, the field hockey team here will continue to play on for this fall season.
PinK Panthers
Thevarsity field hockey team and the girls' JV soccer team recently held games to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research, proudly donning pink jerseys and socks in support of the cause. The field hockey team played against the Convent of the Sacred Heart School, finishing with a score of 0-4.
Meanwhile, the JV girls' soccer team faced off against Marymount School and won 5-0. Mariah Peña, the coach of the JV girls' soccer team, shared, "These games are especially meaningful to me because my family has been raising awareness for breast cancer every year since my little sister was diagnosed."
This tradition has been a cherished part of Masters for many sports over the years, and she hopes to establish it as a lasting tradition for the JV soccer team as well.
See more from the event on our
Instagram: @ masterstower
Ella liu
FROM TOP LEFT, CLOCKWISE: Dara Akinwande, Olivia Fitzsimmons, Nick Holtz, Dara Akinwande, Xing Lyu, Tatum Wallach, Siena Olay, Dara Akinwande, Nick Holz, Bea Hopper, Chloe Mackay, Emme Disick, Willow Lovett.
MARISSA GOLDFARB
All Photos by Thomas Mccallum and Matthew Ives
SportS
Masters cross country chases down last year’s success with new captain leading the pack
thom AS mccAllum
Last year, Masters boys cross country made history. They went from seventh to second in the Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA), and from 12th to fifth in the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Athletic Association – marking the biggest jump in championship placement in team history and proving that the team is a force to be reckoned with.
But for Head Coach Ben Allen, there is still more to accomplish.
While last year’s success was monumental, the bar is set even higher this year.
Allen said, “We’re obviously trying to go for the number one spot this year, but now we’ve got a target on our back.” The team is putting in the work to get to that goal, with Allen saying they are upping the intensity and mileage at practice to ensure they can compete at the highest level.
Through hard work, the team has placed itself in a position to compete for that top spot with other highly competitive teams in the league, such as Brunswick and Hopkins.
The impact of last year’s team, especially the leadership of standout seniors Nathan Lothian 24’ and Charlie Milward 24’, remains profound. Allen said, “Those guys were vocal leaders and great athletes on the course as well.” He went on to explain that for two years, Lothian and Milward were the focal points of the team and contributed massively to both the culture and success of
the group. Now that they’ve graduated, Allen said some new people are going to have to step up into those roles.
The person stepping up the most for the team is captain Jamie Milward, a junior who has been running competitively since eighth grade. With big shoes to fill, Milward said he is embracing his new role as both a leader and competitor and is eager to keep the momentum of last season alive.
Planning to build on the legacy of last year’s team, he said, “Last year’s success was really a confidence booster. We went from a team that wasn’t really in the competition at all to one that was running to win it, and it sort of set an expectation: now that we’ve
gotten to this level, let’s try to stay here.”
Jamie Milward ran with last year’s seniors for two years and was inspired by how they built a culture of both fun and competition, something that he hopes to continue. He said, “They had a sense of when to take things seriously, and they knew when you could make things fun; that is the culture I am trying to keep.”
For Milward, one of the most important aspects of a winning team is running as a team. In cross country, only the top runners for each team contribute to the teams overall placement. However, Milward takes the stance that every runner matters.
He said, “Cross country, as
much as running is an in dividual sport, is a team sport. For me, it’s re ally about trusting in my teammates when the time comes, and trusting in myself.”
This year, the team has already hit the ground running and is well on their way to achiev ing their goals. The teams’ top five runners this year are Tozia Kawabata ‘25, Jamie Milward ‘26, Liam Chappelear ‘27, Jose Miester ‘26 and Owen
Bull ‘26, all of whom are posting highly competitive times. They have been to two meets so far, the FAA season opener and the Canterbury Invitational, and the Panthers have placed third and second respectively, both times missing at least one of their top five runners (Miester missed two meets for a minor injury, while Kawabata was unable to attend one race due to outside circumstances). These results place the team well within the range of competition for their goal of winning the FAA championship.
In addition to positioning themselves for success this year, the team is looking like it is only going to improve in the future, with most of the top runners having at least one more season with the team. Only one of the top seven runners (Tozai Kawabata) will graduate this year, and three -
AyAl Ah Spr Att
CAPTAIN JAMIE MILWARD RUNS with Jose Meister ‘26 and Tozai Kawabata ‘25 during a workout. Milward plans on leading the team to even more success than last year.
THOMAS MCCALLUM/TOWER
OWEN BULL AND MALCOLM Giles run a warm-up lap before a workout. The team has been upping the intensity at practice in hopes of winning the FAA championship.
